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Unlike the more tropical settings of the original duology, this book takes place in cold waters full of icebergs and a very horrible monster (that fight and the preceding scenes were one of my favourite sequences.) It was so chilly, perfect for the coming winter!
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life. Joined by a distractingly handsome mercenary and a young scholar with extensive knowledge of the world’s known magics, Ziva and her sister set out on a quest to keep the sword safe until they can find a worthy wielder or a way to destroy it entirely. I pull his feet out from under him, climb atop his wriggling body, and prepare to go for the throat. I absolutely loved that we got a new perspective in this book. I loved reading Alosa’s story in the first two books, but it was really nice to see Solinda’s story in this one. She is in the first two books, but in those I found her to be a bit mysterious and I was curious about her. She is both damaged and strong in a complex, but intriguing way.
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I liked the plot, the high seas adventure, getting to see a little bit of Alosa again, the themes and everything in between. While this book does come after DAUGHTER OF THE PIRATE KING and DAUGHTER OF THE SIREN QUEEN, and contains spoilers for it, it is a standalone story rather than the third book in a trilogy. Some characters return from the original duology, though (nicely) the focus of those books are hardly in this book, giving Sorinda, Kearan, and the new characters more space. I also really enjoyed the male love interest, Kearan. Even though he always wears his heart of his sleeve when it comes to Sorinda, he only serves to be a safe space for Sorinda. Kearan is a beast of a man, but he’s 100% a cinnamon roll.
No one knows the extent of the freshly crowned Shadow King’s power. Some say he can command the shadows that swirl around him to do his bidding. Others say they speak to him, whispering the thoughts of his enemies. Regardless, Alessandra knows what she deserves, and she’s going to do everything within her power to get it. Can it be read without having read your other pirate books? Yes, but I think you’ll enjoy it more if you have read the Daughter of the Pirate King duology. One of the reasons I never got into Throne of Glass is because - even at age 11/12 - I felt very strongly that any character who was billed to me as a cutthroat assassin should, at some point, actually be a cutthroat assassin. This particular book opens with 18-year-old Sorinda Veshtas murdering an entire house of people, so we can safely say she's got cutthroat assassination in spades. Sorinda Veshtas is an assassin pirate with a whole trove of knives that she keeps sharpened, shining and at one arm's reach at all times. Kearan is the "bulky", once-drunkard who is an incredibly loyal and capable crewmate. Together on the Vengeance, sent by the pirate queen after the missing Wanderer, this is so much more than just their romance. He should have known better. He should have kept running after he managed to free himself during the scuffle between the land king and former pirate king. Might have had a nice, long life that way.
I really enjoyed the contrast between Theydan (the villain) and Kearan. The villain is trying to control Sorinda, saying he's looking out for her interests and she'll want this when she stops and thinks about it. By contrast, Kearan always gives Sorinda the space to work out what she wants. By having Kearan's actions oppose Theydan's, it was an effective way of highlighting just how toxic such behaviour is, and how insidious. I also loved the crew. They were really a family. Little Roslyn stole the show for me. I loved any scene she was in. As I let my dagger drift closer to his throat, I replace the face before me with one from my memories. One with lighter skin, a beauty mark on the left side of his forehead, a single gold hoop high up on one ear. Straw-colored hair and a clean-shaven face. A cleft in the middle of the chin. I loved every moment of this book, and it was an easy 4 stars for me. I am very hopeful that there will be more books in this wonderful series. I throw the doors open wide, sight my mark, and fling my blade. The dagger lands true, embedding in his throat. I don’t retrieve it just yet. Time is precious now.
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